Chapter 4
Cassie
Uncomfortable. It’s what I felt from the first moment I stepped foot on to the property. Something told me things weren’t going to be as spectacular as I’d imagined in my head. Though important to keep my opinions to myself, I preferred to hide out in my bedroom to avoid from being around Rocky and his ridiculously flirtatious girlfriend. In fact, for the first twenty-four hours I stayed in bed crying. It was partly because I missed my family already, but mostly because I feared I’d made a terrible decision.
It didn’t help when Brant preferred to be entertained by our new housemates instead of staying in the room with me. I didn’t blame him. He was trying to keep the peace for the sake of his new job. He’d never been the kind of guy to sit still, so sleeping the day away wasn’t an option.
That first night he came into the room inebriated. He smelled of strong liquor and his hair was dripping wet. Wearing only his shorts, I watched as he kicked them off his legs. My first inclination was that he’d gotten a shower, but it smelled like chlorine. “Where were you?”
He was shivering as he climbed under the covers with me. “I was just chilling with Tam. She’s going to take us out tomorrow night for dinner, then Rocky and I are going to get things in order for our first gig.”
“Gig?” I wanted to ask him about being around Tammy, but was too curious about the job. “It sounds like you’re in a show.”
He gave me that look – the one where I wasn’t suppose to question him. “Listen to me, Cass. I’m going to do whatever it takes to make us money.”
“It’s illegal isn’t it?”
He shrugged. “It’s not if no one knows it ever happened. Here’s the thing though. After talking to Tam tonight, I think it’s best if you’re a part of the operation. We’ve got the potential to make a killing, but we need a distraction. As much as I’d like to say she fits the bill, we need someone who can blend in undetected.”
“Undetected?” I sat straight up with worry. “I’m not getting involved in a crime, Brant.”
He ran his fingers over my lips. “Shh, it’s going to be okay. All you have to do is play a couple slots and be friendly. You don’t have to touch anyone or commit a crime. I promise.”
“This makes no sense at all.”
He rolled over and turned off the light on the bedside table. “We’ll talk about it tomorrow. I’m beat.”
I remained sitting up in the dark room. I should have known this was a bad idea. “You knew all along you’d be doing something illegal, didn’t you?”
“We have different values, Cass. Do you want to have a place of our own someday?”
“I don’t want to hurt people to get it.”
“You won’t. I said I’d protect you, and I meant it.”
“This is wrong. It’s exactly why my parents wanted me to stop seeing you. I’m not going to be a part of this. I won’t!”
“You said you’d do anything for us to be together. I just need some time, baby. I know it’s not an ideal job, but with a little bit of time I’ll find something else. It’s temporary, so we can stay together. Please. Give me a chance. Let me do what needs to be done until I can figure something else out.”
I rolled my eyes. He wasn’t hearing me. He never would. “Fine, but I’m not okay with this. I don’t want to help you.”
“I get it. That’s why I admire you so much. You always assume I can be a better person. You have to believe it’s what I want too. This main score will give us the cash we need to be on our own. In the meantime we’ll have to do little jobs to have some cash. We don’t have to stay in this city. We can move wherever you want, even if it’s back to the country somewhere. We need a head start. You know it. Without support from our families this is the only way. Please, Cass. Just give me a month. Let me do what I need to, and then we’ll figure it out.”
Even though I hated the idea, I knew we were in a tough situation. Like many times before, Brant had kept the truth from me because he knew I wouldn’t be able to handle it. Now I didn’t have a choice. I could call my parents and have them pick me up, knowing they’d been right all along, or I could wait this out, until I could figure out another way for us to make end’s meet. “One month, Brant. That’s it though. I won’t let you lead us down a path we can’t be proud of.”
“You have my word, baby. We’ll get what we need and get out.”
My mind went back to his wet hair, especially since I needed to change the subject. “Were you in the pool?”
“Uh, yeah. Rocky and Tammy made some burgers. We had a couple beers while going over the plans for tomorrow.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Why didn’t you change into swimming trunks?”
“Yeah, about that.” He paused. “We didn’t need them.”
I rolled over and buried my head in my pillow. After one night he was already making me question my decision. I feared it was going to get worse, and living under the same roof with a Tammy was going to test my ability to trust my boyfriend; something I’d been very bad at.
“Don’t be mad. We’re in Vegas. There’s lots of naked people walking around.”
He tried to touch me, but I forced his hand away. If he thought for a second I was going to be all right with him sitting around Tammy in all her glory, he was in for a rude awakening.
“I hate it here.”
He said nothing and I was glad about it. Had we gotten into an argument over it, I probably would have been on the first flight home. After all, the grass wasn’t at all greener, at least not yet.
That night I tossed and turned in bed, finally deciding it was better if I got up. I put on some sweats and found my way through the dark house. After stopping in the kitchen to make a sandwich, I made my way outside to the pool. Assuming everyone was asleep, I was flabbergasted when I realized two people were still clearly awake an in a surprising situation. In the dim light, I could make out Tammy, her large boobs bouncing around in the bubbly water, while high pitched sounds escaped her lips. Behind her was a man, but after ducking back behind a tropical tree, I noticed he was built different from Rocky. I covered my mouth with my hands and snuck back inside the house, determined to keep my little discovery a secret. Far be it from me to ruin a relationship when I didn’t even know if there was one at all. My main concern was Brant, and somehow making enough money to keep moving.
The next morning I awoke to find him bringing in a tray of breakfast. I could smell the maple syrup he’d poured over the buttermilk pancakes. “Peace offering time,” he noted while handing me the tray.
I sat up and welcomed the food. My appetite had been non-existent since arriving. “Thank you. It smells wonderful.”
“About last night.”
I shook my head and shoved a bite into my mouth. “I’m never going to be okay with you being around other naked women. I’m not a jealous person by nature, but she’s very different from me, and it makes me uncomfortable.”
“I know. I had too many beers celebrating being free of your parents. It won’t happen again. Besides, she was with Rocky the whole time.”
I raised my brows. “That’s funny. Last night I walked around and saw her fucking someone else outside.”
“What? You must be mistaken.”
“Let’s hope. I don’t need to be kicked out before we can figure out where we’re going next. We need to save everything, Brant. I don’t want to put roots down here. This lifestyle isn’t for me. I know you like it, but I want a more quiet atmosphere. I want children, and a place to raise them where I don’t have to worry so much.”
He ran his hand through my hair. “I know, baby. I’m working hard to give it to you.”
I was content with his promise, but only because I knew how long he’d stuck by me when my parents did their best to keep us apart. Brant could have given up a long time ago and found someone with less baggage. He loved me enough to wait it out, and so I owed it to him to give him the same amount of patience.